Monday, March 13, 2017

This And That

I was out of town at the end of last week at a company meeting. I missed that the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee was having a hearing regarding the death of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata. However, David Codrea didn't miss it nor the fact that two BATFE officials on their own accord skipped the meeting despite being "invited" to appear.

He (former Agent Vince Cefalu) was referring to Thursday’s appearance (video below) before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Activities by Thomas E. Brandon, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The hearing was held to further explore the ambush murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata by cartel operatives in Mexico, where “straw-purchased” guns allowed by ATF to “walk” across the border were recovered from the scene.

Two of Brandon's agents, Associate Deputy Director Ronald Turk and Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Temple, were no-shows to the hearing. They decided on their own not to come testify, and Brandon informed Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz that he agreed with their decision.

Recognizing a continuation of the stonewalling that was dragged on for years by ATF and the Department of Justice under the Obama administration, Chaffetz was having none of it. He immediately issued subpoenas for Temple and Turk to appear on March 22.

Remington Arms is moving out of anti-gun New York..one layoff at a time. They expand their production in Alabama during a market increase, and cut from the New York plant during the downturns. I guess elections have consequences as New York voters raised both the price of doing business and of owning a gun in NY.

I did work the GRNC booth Saturday morning at the Asheville Gun Show. While our business was a bit slow, the crowds seemed bigger than this time last year. I don't know whether it was bargain shopping on the part of attendees or because we were supposed to get snow Saturday night.

I didn't check the prices of ARs at the show but they did seem down at the Winston-Salem show I attended the preceding weekend. If anyone is looking for an AR15, now is as good a time as you'll ever get to buy one. I have seen Ruger AR-555s selling under $500 at multiple locations, off-brands for under $400, and the S&W M&P-15 in the low $500 range. If you want to look for deals, check the Reddit sub group called gun deals.